Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Dawn Meland, a member of the board of directors for Orleans Community Health, spins the tickets for $1,000 worth of cash prizes as part of Saturday’s Treasure Island fundraiser for Medina Memorial Hospital.

The physicians at the hospital donated the $1,000, and winners were picked for $500, $200, $200 and $100.

The Orleans Community Health Foundation has been putting on the Treasure Island fundraiser since 1984. Holly Lederhouse, left, and her mother Wanda Lederhouse, right, both dressed up as pirates for the benefit. Craig Smith also was a pirate. His wife, Heather Smith, works as a donor development specialist for the Foundation.

Dave Lindsay looks over some of the merchandise up for auction at the Treasure Island fundraiser at Hickory Ridge Country Club. There were more than 200 items up for bid.

Treasure Island typically raises about $30,000 for the hospital. It is the Foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

Barb Jantzi, left, and Joanne Stefanik, center, served as voluntary co-chairs of the event. They are pictured with Angela DiRosa, director of the Foundation.

They are pictured by a sign showing progress towards purchasing a new high-tech ultrasound machine for the hospital.

Saturday’s event was expected to meet the $175,000 overall goal for the new ultrasound, which should be in place in early 2016.

Wes Pickreign, a board member for the Foundation, served as emcee for the Saturday event, which was attended by about 250 people.

Georgia Thomas of Medina looks over some of the items up for bid. Thomas said she has been coming to Treasure Island for about a dozen years.

“It’s fun and it supports the hospital,” Thomas said. “This is a happening place.”

Teressa Taylor, a clinical analyst for the hospital, checks in some of the bidders at Treasure Island on Saturday.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Medina Police Chief Jose Avila directs traffic on Oct. 30 during Beggar’s Night in downtown Medina. Avila will serve as grand marshal of the Parade of Lights on Nov. 28.

MEDINA – The grand marshal for the Parade of Lights on Nov. 28 is a familiar figure in Medina.

Police Chief Jose Avila has led the parades, driving ahead of the floats in his police cruiser. That will continue with the upcoming parade. Avila didn’t want special treatment, to be up on a float, said Jim Hancock, the parade chairman.

“He wants to ride in his police car,” Hancock said. “He’ll be out in front of the parade doing his job just like he wants to.”

Avila is retiring at the end of the year. he has been police chief the past 17 years.

Hancock said Avila has been supportive of the many downtown and community projects, from the Parade of Lights, Beggar’s Night, Civil War Re-enactments, Classic Car Cruise-Ins and numerous other events.

The police chief puts in extra time for the events, especially when sections of Main Street are blocked off. He doesn’t complain about the extra work, Hancock said.

“We just want to say thank you,” Hancock said. “I don’t think people realize all of the stuff that he does. He is a really good guy who is well-respected in Medina.”

Avila will be given a chance to make opening remarks to kick off the celebration at Rotary Park at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 28. He will also flip the switch on the community Christmas tree at 5:45. Avila will then have to hustle to get back to the front of the parade caravan. The parade starts at 6 p.m.

The parade usually includes 30 to 35 floats. The grand prize has been increased this year from $500 to $1,000 for the top float.

Medina High School students Jordan Moden, Allison Donley, Allysen Snook and Principal Michael Cavanagh are helping to raise funds for the “Boxes of Love” campaign.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Medina Central School staff and students have generously donated to their “Boxes of Love” campaign. The campaign was started 10 years ago when a Medina resident, Cindy Curtain, was volunteering her time at Towne Primary.

“Cindy turned to one of the students and asked him how his Thanksgiving was,” explained Oak Orchard Principal Dan Doctor, who was the principal at Towne before that school closed. “The student responded with a blank stare and told her he did not know what she was talking about when she mentioned turkey and stuffing. That is when we started the program and the district embraced it.”

Clifford Wise Middle School teacher Len Petix and Principal Elaine Wendt are also supporting the effort.

Every year, food items such as turkeys, stuffing, canned goods and desserts, along with cash donations are given to John and Cindy Curtain, who along with volunteers, pack the boxes that are given to feed families in the community for Thanksgiving. Last year the donations were enough to feed 34 families.

Oak Orchard Elementary School staff members Eileen Regan, Anne Downey, Sue Anderson, Elaine Ryan and Christine DuMoulin promote the fund-raising effort.

“This effort is a really special way for us to care for our community,” says Mr. Doctor. “It’s an opportunity for us to come together, touch lives and share hope.”

Jeremy Hogan, owner of O’Brien’s, leading effort for micro-brewery on Main Street

Jeremy Hogan

MEDINA – The owner of O’Brien’s is working to open a new micro-brewery in downtown Medina. Jeremy Hogan said he is establishing the Barge Brewing Company on North Main Street.

The new business will be located in the Zambito Realtors building, next to NAPA Auto Parts. The brewery will have a Main Street storefront and will back up to the canal and have access in the Canal Basin for boaters.

Hogan expects the business will be ready for a “soft opening” in March, and will be ready for bigger crowds and bus tours in May.

He has already begun work on converting the space, which once was a bowling alley. It will become a tasting cellar, production area and retail store for beer and merchandise.

“This is a project I’ve been working on for quite some time, and I’m glad to say the time is finally right and the pieces have all fallen into place,” Hogan said.

He has owned O’Brien’s, a tavern on Main Street, the past four years. Hogan also worked in the software and information technology industries before returning to his hometown of Medina. He plans to keep O’Brien’s open, with the sites as complimentary businesses.

“There’s no doubt that craft beer is experiencing a boom such that the average American lives within 5 miles of a brewery,” Hogan said. “That kind of saturation might indicate the movement has topped out, but the trend we see is in smaller batches and a hyper local experience, more of a nano brewery.”

Hogan has been a home brewer. He will bring in master brewers to create the beer at the Barge Brewing Company.

“We create a large scope of beers rather than focusing on scaling one flagship recipe that is mass marketed and mass produced,” he said. “I know from my experience running a tavern that there is no shortage of beer enthusiasts and an ever-growing connoisseurship of craft beer drinkers.”

Each of the recipes has a bit of Medina in its foundation, from sourcing local ingredients to highlighting and celebrating the local heritage and famous visitors, Hogan said.

He plans to offer a standard American Pale Ale called Barge Beer; a highly hopped, higher alcohol double IPA called The Muleskinner; a seasonal Bock that honors John Steinbeck’s visit to Medina called Steinbock; a raspberry infused ale named for Medina’s first lady (Frances Folsom who married U.S. President Grover Cleveland) called Framboise Folsom; a grog-inspired ale in tribute to a pirate known to frequent the Great Lakes called Skull Dugger.

Hogan also plans to offer a milk chocolate stout, a vanilla bourbon porter, a cherry lime shandy and other brews.

“That’s the main benefit of doing smaller batches,” he said. “We can release anything that suits the season or strikes our fancy.”

Hogan has reached out to locals in the industry. Hogan said Barge Brewing is working on a cask-conditioned barleywine in partnership with Jonathan Oakes of Leonard Oakes Winery and a mead-based beer called a “braggot” with Bryan DeGraw of 810 Meadworks.

There will also be a menu created in part with J.J. Heideman of Bad Ash BBQ and an exclusive catering agreement with Zambistro for parties and events. Hogan is also developing custom beers for Zambistro and Bad Ash, as well as a Stout and Irish Red that will be available exclusively at O’Brien’s.

Mayor Andrew Meier said Barge Brewing will be an exciting addition to the downtown, drawing customers that should visit other local businesses.

“Jeremy’s business concept is fresh and inspired,” Meier said. “Medina’s emerging craft beverage scene will benefit from the uniqueness of Barge Brewing’s nano-brewery model. This new business will help Medina emerge as a standout food and beverage destination in WNY.”

The Village of Medina became more winery and brewery friendly last year with the creation of code variances to allow for that type of industry in the historic downtown area.

Provided photo  – Medina students are recognized at Sunday’s state championships. The group includes, from left: Alexis Neuman (Guard captain), Andrea Toussaint (assistant drum major), Amanda Lunden (drum major), Tristan Sanders (assistant drum major) and Brittanie Goodin (Guard captain).

SYRACUSE – The New York State Field Band Conference held its 42nd Annual Championship Show on Sunday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, and the Medina Mustang Band finished second in its class.

Medina competed with six schools in the SS1 class. Medina’s score of 91.20 only trailed East Syracuse Minoa, which took first with 91.65, a mere .45 difference.

Band Director Jim Steele commented that regardless of the outcome, they all hold their heads high having given a great performance to remember this season. There are 52 bands competing and only six bands go home as State Champions. All of the students are champions in the eyes of the staff and boosters as we have all become better people, musicians/guard members, friends and family through this process, Steele said.

Throughout this process starting with band camp, the band has had many highs as well as a few lows, but the bottom line is that the band is a family and family sticks together through thick and thin, Steele said.

The New York State Field Band Conference was formed on Feb. 6, 1972 and while competitions were held since then, the first championship show was held Nov. 2, 1974. The championships have been at the Carrier Dome since 1980.

There are six classifications of schools based on school population, history of past placement in competitions, number of staff members, their experience and past success, along with the age and experience of the band members.

While Medina has 130 students in the marching band in grades 7-12, 35 of the band members are rookies.

Medina has been competing in this conference since 1976 and over the years the school has won the championship 13 times.

Other first place winners on Sunday include: LS3-West Seneca; LS2-Jamestown; SS3-Roslyn; SS2-Central Square; National-Victor.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Lubna Zaidi is opening the Medina Language Center at 511 West Ave., a former dental office. She will have an open house with demonstrations on Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m.

MEDINA – Lubna Zaidi has a vision for Medina as a draw for international students. She and her team would teach English and foreign languages, and offer other services to help prepare students for American universities.

She thinks some students would stay for up to a year, improving their education and enjoying small-town American life.

Zaidi is taking the first step with that vision by opening the Medina Language Center.

“I think things grow in small places, sometimes faster than in big cities where you can get lost,” Zaidi said at the language center, which is located at 511 West Ave., a former dental office.

The school’s first focus will be high school students from the local community. The center will also gladly serve younger students and adults who need help to improve their skills and understanding in English and foreign languages, as well as other school subjects.

Zaidi and her team of teachers will have an open house on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to about 5 p.m. Medina Mayor Andrew Meier, who owns the building, will give opening remarks at the celebration.

Zaidi will give an overview of the center’s programs at 1:30 p.m. and there will be free trial classes, registration and information sessions from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Zaidi currently runs the World Life Education Centre outside Toronto. The Medina center will be modeled after that school, helping students bolster language skills and prepare for college entrance exams and other important tests.

The smaller class setting has proven to help those students, Zaidi said. The school also has a youth leadership program, The Gavel Club, and Zaidi wants to bring that program with its public speaking competitions to Medina.

“The focus is on public speaking and leadership, and to first try to be a humanitarian leader before you move on to something else,” she said.

She grew up in Hong Kong and was involved in a Gavel Club, when the program was first starting. She has taught and learned at schools in Toronto, London and Dubai, before establishing her school in Toronto three years ago, working with about 40 to 60 students each year.

Zaidi also has been a volunteer with the World Life Institute Project Life program, where war orphans from Afghanistan, Kosovo and Chechnya spend the summer in Orleans County, learning English, art and enjoying the rural countryside with host families.

Zaidi has been a chaperone for children on the flights from Afghanistan to the United States. She said she was so inspired by the program she named her school in Toronto after World Life.

Her parents recently moved from New York City to Medina so Zaidi is often in town visiting them and her friends in the World Life Institute. She has a team of teachers ready to serve in the Medina Language Center.

Classes will be available in the mornings, afternoons and evenings if there is demand from the students. She would like to connect with local school districts to make the center available to help local students.

If the program grows, she thinks the center could be popular with international students spending several months in Medina, honing their language skills before college.

Zaidi thinks Medina has lots of small-town appeal that would be attractive to international students. Many are from smaller towns in other countries and they would feel more comfortable staying in Medina than a big city.

They would also be close to Niagara Falls and nearby cities.

For more information about the Medina Language Center, call (585) 765-5480.

Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – It was Beggar’s Night in downtown Medina this evening and hundreds of children turned out for treats, stopping by many of the local businesses including Herbalty Cottage, which is owned by Bonnie Heck.

Heck dressed up as the Cat in the Hat and her husband Tom was agood sport as “Thing 1” from the popular book by Dr. Seuss. Their daughter Lindsay was Thing 2.

Ethan Brown, 6, of Medina is dressed as Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean. He is in Medina outside Main Street TV & Appliance Sales, one of the stops on Beggar’s Night.

Kylee Howard is dressed as a bumblebee while handing out candy at A Kut Above.

Debbie Woodroe, owner of Woodroe Realty, is dressed as a ghost and tries to get the attention of some of the kids on Beggar’s Night. Many of the business owners were in costume for the event.

Ashley Woodroe (left), granddaughter of Debbie Woodroe, and Ashley’s friend Jessie Fox are dressed as rockers while giving out candy at Woodroe Realty.

Leah Pritchard, left, and her cousin Hailey Bader dole out goodies at a lily and a sparrow.

These friends –  Torry Dames, left, and Julian Tavor – are dressed a Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles while getting some candy from Jaye Sullivan, owner of Blissett’s.

Medina Police Chief Jose Avila directs traffic at the Main Street and East Center Street intersection. Avila is retiring by the end of the year.

This shows a rendering of the new building on Maple Ridge Road across from GCC.

MEDINA – The Orleans County Planning Board reviewed the site plan for a new 62,000-square-foot vegetable processing facility last week and recommended the Village of Medina approve the plan.

Pride Pak wants to break ground on the project next month and be ready for production in June. The Canadian-based company says it will hire 85-100 employees in phase one of the project. It expects it will expand from the 62,000-square-foot building in the future and employ 200 people.

The company will build on Route 31A across from Genesee Community College in an area zoned as light industrial in the Maple Ridge Overlay District.

The company is proposing 106 parking spaces, with 100 designated for employees and six for visitors. The village code for the Maple Ridge Overlay District calls for 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet for a building, which would be 310 spaces for a 62,000-square-foot building. For light industrial sites, there should be 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet or 124 for Pride Pak, according to the code.

However, Medina allows for “a reasonable reduction” in parking spaces if the company can show there isn’t an overflow parking problem and it won’t adversely impact access roads.

The County Planning Board said additional parking could always be added if it proves a problem, but the board didn’t foresee a need for more than 106 given the production-only nature of the facility.

The site plan goes to the Village Planning Board for a final vote on Nov. 3.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Matt Mundion and his giant igloo – The North Pole – was named grand champion in the Parade of Lights last year in Medina. It was the second striaght year Mundion won the top prize. He declined the $500 grand prize last year, and urged organizers to sweeten the prize ths year.

The Parade of Lights Committee is taking Mundion’s advice and doubling the grand prize to $1,000.

Parade Chairman Jim Hancock said he wants to reward the top float, and also encourage more businesses and organizations to be a part of Nov. 28 event, which will be the seventh Parade of Lights in Medina. The parade has been a big success, drawing several thousand people to downtown Medina and the parade route.

Some members of the Parade Committee hold the $1,000 ceremonial check. The group includes, from left: Dave Miller, Gail Miller, Trudi Schwert, Jim Hancock and Dave Schwert.

There have been about 30 to 35 participants in the parade each year.

“The only criteria is it must be covered in lights,” Hancock said. “I’ve been blown away by the creativity and what people can do.”

Mundion built the “North Pole” with a framework of wood and attached white fabric on the outside to give an igloo look. He used two of the deer from his 2013 float – Rudolph and Dasher – as part of the display. He also built a door in front so he could see to steer the igloo. He drove a four-wheeler underneath the igloo to travel the parade route.

For more information on the parade and an entry form, click here.

Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Medina Memorial Hospital had many health professionals available to take questions and provide information during a health fair on Tuesday at the hospital.

This group provides physical, speech and occupational therapy. The group includes, front row, from left: Brenda Zimmerman, occupational therapist; and Nancy Fallon, director of rehab and a speech therapist/language pathologist.

Back row: Sheryl Bates, physical therapist; Cory Lewis, physical therapist; and Caroline Lewandowski, speech therapist.

Two staff members for the Urgent Care site in Albion, which now has Netflix available in rooms while patients wait for the doctor, talk about services for the site.

Nikki Helsdon, seated with an episode on House playing on her laptop, is the registration supervisor for the Urgent Care site. Joanna Miller, in back, is director of the Albion health care site, which opened in November 2012 by Orleans Community Health, parent organization of Medina Memorial Hospital.

Nick Callara of Medina took questions at a pharmacy station. Callara is a pharmacy intern at the hospital and a senior at St. John Fisher College.

The health fair also included a chance for a massage from either Katie Crooks or Gary Condoluci.

Provided photo, Medina Mustang Band

MEDINA – While it was a chilly night in Victor on Saturday, the Medina Mustang Band was hot! Medina took first place in the SS1 class with a score of 84.75, followed by East Irondequoit, second with 80.35.

Medina Band Director Jim Steele commented that “the kids once again did a fantastic job on Saturday regardless of less than stellar weather conditions. They worked hard all week and the reward was a great performance again this weekend. We are looking forward to continuing our journey together to represent the community and our school at the State Championships on Nov. 1. Regardless of outcome this has been one of my most rewarding years of teaching marching band in Medina. Great kids, great instructors and great band parents and supporters, who could ask for more!”

Next Saturday the band competes in Orchard Park before heading for the Dome in Syracuse on Sunday, Nov. 1.